SPRINTING.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10752, 24 November 1928, Page 6

SPRINTING.

ADVICE BY EX-CHAMPION RUNNER. INSTRUCTIVE ADDRESS RY MR, <>. F. PALTRIDGE. (.'ominomlable enterprise has been shown by the Gisborne Amateur Athletic and Harrier Club in inaiignrating a series of lectures on various phases of athletics by prominent performers, for the benefit ot club members. Nearly 50 dub members including a number of ladies, attended the first address on “Sprinting,” delivered by Mr. O. E. Paltridge, in Le. Grande Lounge last night. With a wide experience on the track in-New Zealand and England, and an intimate knowledge of the. latest methods in. other countries, which ho related entertainingly, the speaker held the interest of his audience throughout.. “These lectures are aimed at stimulating the interest of members ot the club and educating the younger participants in the sport,” remarked . the chairman, Mr. W. Jenkins, who introduced tho. lecturer. The attendance of members, he said, was very gratifying and would great!y eneoui age tho executive to continue the series of lectures. Mr. Paltridge prefaced his address with general observations on athletics, which he said was one of tho most popular sports in the world, ft was a highly specialised sport, though this fact was not evident in the secondary schools, where pupils participated in both track and field games in succession which was not in their best interests. It wa-s largely a matter at individual effort, except in relay a-acing. The, first question a. performer should ask was, “What branch will I take up?” This point was not seriously considered by many young men, who appeared as budding sprinters at set distances and failed. The whole idea of athletics was to build up strength, not to expend, it. Ninety per cent, of performers spent their time in expending their strength in incorrect training methods. Athletes in America, England. Australia and New Zealand each had their own methods of training. The speaker had his own ideas of sprintting and he had tided most methods. ./printing, tho lecturer doscritjsd as running at full speed. Stature did not count in -. the development of a •sprinter. Ho declared that a sprinter must, bo just as fit lor his race as a distance runner, as tho former expended as much, if not more, energy in 'covering JOO yards as did a milor. row athletes'recognised the import, mice of being fit-: it was more essential for-a .sprinter to be thoroughly fit than a distance man. The, chief essentials of a sprinter were: Any amount of nervous energy; good physique and ability. Not, everyone possessed those facilities, but he claimed they could be largely attained by constant training and coaching. Ho -said. that small stature sprinters nv.ro usually:-found to Ik?, vary well developed both below, and above, tho thighs, instancing Paddoek. . • Athletes siiou d start,' sprinting about 17 years of age; not earlier, otherwise they might burn out before reaching this age. He bad often heard the question, “Wlinf. made a perfect sprinter?” He pointed to Jackson Scholtss, of .JT.fS.A-., os being as near perfect as possible in bis day, being a fast- starter, good stridor and a good finisher. Mr, Paltridge impressed on the audience the necessity of developing overv muscle in. the. body 7. Tho stride adopted by the sprinter depended on the stature, of the performer. Personally ho believed that quick repetition was preferab.e to a. stride, of length. The three main- essentials to be attained wore stylo, pace and stamina- .) In training, thei speaker advised competitors to indulge first in slow jogging to get the legs in order. The development, of the stride and finishing wore also important features of sprinting. He -stated that, a. man running 100 yards in TO seconds would bo travelling at- 23 miles pea' hour at the highest point in tho The two principal methods of sprinting were the American mechanical style, and the English natural running style. In tho former, tho stride was very high and the foot thrown forward hazxl. He added that Jackson Scholtz had pointed out Miss Eastwood as having the blest stylo according to American, methods. Tho arm action of the American style was the swinging of the limbs backward and forward in a.series of sharp uppercuts, whereas by the Englisti stylo the arms went across tho body. Personally lie favored the American sprint action, pointing out that although beaten at the. last Olympic Games, America held the majority of the sprint records. ’The longer striding action of the English lie considered, was little inferior to the quick' action of the Americans, fn his opinion, T. Corkery was a good exponent of the English style ami action, though the,'speaker failed to see .where any advantaga was obtained by it. It was noticeable, lio said, that -some runners kicked their legs high behind them which, of course, prevented quick repetition pf strides. Again some competitor's did hot land squarely on their feet; they should land on tlicir toes, not their lice’s: the best sprinters placed their feet down very lightly. The carriage of the body was of an importance that- few recognised The shoulders must not l>e used to move along;, competitors must run wi their logs, using their arms as governors ; the swaying of tho shoulders was of no bonefift. * Mr. Paltridge impressed oh the audience the value of correct 1 ►.lance to obtain the correct body loan, and urged them to pay attention to this point in training. Dealing with hip-action, Mr. Pa tridge pointed out that M. Kirksev, of U.S.A., and G. Davidson, of Auckland'. had demonstrated the value of the hip coming to the front, and making the str.de longer and freer One of the worst, faults of some competitors was in tho manner of holding their heads. The head must be held straight, and not looking up or to tho side.

Touching upon temperament., Mr. Paltridge said he had often heard it suggested that a sprinter had a bad fault if ho showed signs of nervousness. That was not so if the cause was just an over abundance of nervous energy, but if a man bad tbs “wind up” it was a different thing. Warmth was very important to sprinters, lie added, and although lie had hoard some ladies complaining that they disliked competing on hot days, he impressed on them that most good performances were rogis toiMd-on hot days. On cold days he advised sprinters to wear long trousers and sweaters.

“Eat what suit's you,” was Mr. Paltridne’s advice in regard to diet. He advised compel itors,' however, to eliminate small and unnecessary things from their meals sometime before a big contest, adding that, potatoes write one of the worst erli-l-les for athletes.

Too much training of one sort, induced ist-aleness, he said, and advised competitors that when they . felt themselves getting into this position to stay off the track frr a week or more, and they woidd find that the spr- 1 ! eliminated all traces c>! stalenoss.

The speaker advocared the use of ■'hvsicnl exercises, nnrt.iculnrly those '.’net would strengthen ihe legs and Had-v, but- at. the same time the arms and shoulders should net be neglected He also stress'd the need for well regulated breathing during n race, and the vital importance of

rest, advising that they should keep off t-lie track for a day or even two days on the eve of a big contest. He also commented upon the importance of good sleep to good performances Cn the track.

The various methods of starting were dealt with at length by the speaker .who advised competitors to get into the position that, felt most comfortable. . C'onipetitoi s must rise quickly when given /Set.” and should concentrate on waiting for the report of the gun. He advised that sprinters should not get into their true running position until they had covered 20 yards. On reaching tho middle stage of the distance, many sprinters attempted to lengthen their stride, but he warned them against this practice, advising them to allow the stride to take care of itself. There were tour recognised methods of finish, the shrug in which the body was turned sideways, the lunge in which the arms were dropped back and the. bodv thrown forward five yards from the tape, the jump, comprising jumping at the tape when five yards off, and that demonstrated by Kiiksey, representing the lifting of one arm and a half head turn. Personally he considered the lunge finish was the. easiest.

Massage must be done by someora? who had. a good knowledge of the work, otherwise it was useless, rejiiarked Mr. Paltridge. Before a race the muscles needed only to lie s’ight’.y shaken, and did not require violent rubbing, the whole operation not taking more than 5 or 6 minutes. After a race he advised sprinters to take a shower when hpt, not when they wore cold. He also commented upon the fact that swimming adversely affected a sprinter, adding however, that sunbathing was ono or the best tonics a iminer could take. Ho advised sprinters to map out a course- of training varying their work by distances from 20 to 60 yards, doing about half an hour each evening, finishing up with a “run through.” Concluding with some advice, on technique of ihe track, Mr. Paltridge emphasised the necessity of competitors training with men- faster than themselves. He urged them toi studv ’the starter at all times. Shoes should fit tight-'y like a glove, hut should not be laced tightlv when limbering tin for a race. He also advocated the.' advisability of resting after brats, and advised stationary running, making the same strides as in sprinting, as forming good practice. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Paltridge for his able and instructive address.